


Echo House

by misteeirene



Category: teen wolf - Fandom
Genre: Alive Hale Family, Eichen House, Ghosts, Kidnapping, M/M, Mates, Mention of Past Suicide Attempt, Stiles and Derek pre-relationship, Talia - Freeform, good scott, mention of child abuse/molesting no details, yes his name is John!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-21
Updated: 2020-04-21
Packaged: 2021-03-01 16:47:30
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 14,670
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23770312
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/misteeirene/pseuds/misteeirene
Summary: Unable to deal with his gift of seeing ghosts, fourteen year old Stiles isolated himself from everyone but Scott and his dad, until three years later when the supernatural activity at Eichen House gets so bad that Stiles comes out of isolation to help.
Relationships: Stiles Stilinski/Derek Hale
Comments: 22
Kudos: 553





	Echo House

I do not own Teen Wolf

So this is based off a nightmare I had, I just changed it around a bit to fit Teen Wolf. I left out the talking, walking and flying trees though,,lol. I’m my defense, I had taken a new allergy med before I went to bed that night. 

Hope you enjoy

Please review

***TW

Looking up at the massive, grim looking building that was set deep in the forest, Deputy Jordan Parrish shivered. “So this is the notorious Eichen House? I don’t know what it is, but this place is seriously giving me the creeps.”

With his face grim, Deputy Derek Hale nodded his head. “Eichen House, or as the locals call it, Echo House, because of all the screams that can be heard coming from it, has been here since 1912. It was first a military hospital during World War ll, then after the war ended it was turned into a mental health facility. This is where they send the most hopeless mental patients in the country.” 

Parrish swallowed nervously. “I remember when I was little, my mom use to threaten to send us to Eichen House if we didn’t behave. She said they torture patience here and perform medical experiments on them. She also said it’s the most haunted place in the world.”

“I don’t know about the torture and experiments, I have heard the same rumors, and honestly I believe them, but it being the most haunted place in the world is true.”

“And we’re here at night because?”

“Because, according to the staff, that’s when the ghosts come out. They said the supernatural activity the past few weeks has gotten worse and increasingly more violent. Just last night one of the nurses ended up in the hospital with a concussion and needing twelve stitches from a metal tray launching itself at her and hitting her in the head. She wasn’t the first person on staff to end up in the hospital either, there’s been at least half a dozen.”

“And we’re going in there?” Parrish asked, paling.

Derek smirked. “Jordan, you’re a hell hound, ghosts shouldn’t scare you.”

“I have been a hell hound for like five months, and this is ghosts we’re talking about. Real live, I mean dead, ghosts. Shouldn’t we be calling the Winchesters or the Ghost Busters, or someone with experience with this kind of shit?”

“Oh, Jordan,” Derek chuckled. “This is Beacon Hills, we are the Ghost Busters, as well as any other type of supernatural busters. You’re new here, this is your first supernatural case, but you’ll get use to it.”

“Sheriff’s deputy,” Parrish choked out, “I signed up to be a sheriff’s deputy, not a ghost buster.”

“You can go, no one with think less of you if you don’t want to do this. Beacon Hills is a hellmouth for everything terrifying that goes bump in the night. No one would blame you if you packed your bags and ran like hell. You have no idea how many times I have thought about doing just that.”

Parrish took a couple deep breaths. “Nah, I’m good, I’m just new at this. Besides, where would I go? Your mom was the only alpha that I contacted that would accept a hell hound into her pack and I don’t have enough control over that side of me to be off on my own. I also have come to care a great deal for you all.”

“Us all, as in my sister Laura?” Derek teased. “Everyone can see that you have it hard for her.”

Groaning, Parrish’s face turned beet red. “Your sister is smart, beautiful, fierce, and absolutely terrifying, what man wouldn’t fall in love with her? Is...is she coming tonight?” He asked hopefully.

Derek cocked his head to the side, his sensitive supernatural hearing picking up on a car coming down the long lane that led to Eichen House. “The sheriff is coming, and no, Laura isn’t with him. My mom, McCall, and someone else special is with him.”

Parrish scoffed. “The mysterious ghost whisperer? Werewolves and hell hounds are one thing, but someone who can actually see and talk to ghosts, that’s just crazy.”

“And it’s true,” Derek said, his eyes narrowing. “You haven’t met him yet because he keeps himself isolated, but he’s special. He hasn’t had it easy, constantly seeing and hearing ghosts has driven him to the breaking point. When he was a kid it wasn’t that bad, but as he grew so did his gift. Ghosts were hounding him night and day, never giving him a moment to himself. It got so bad that he tried to take his own life. It was real bad there for a while, one of the pack had to remain with him around the clock on suicide watch, until Deaton found a spell that would hide him from the dead, but only in one location. Peter built a cabin for him deep in the preserve, Deaton performed the spell, and he’s been there ever since. He never leaves the cabin, not even to just step outside to get fresh air or feel the sun, and the only people who can enter the cabin are the Sheriff and McCall. Deaton is a druid, but not a very powerful one, his spell can hide him and two other designated people in the cabin, but that’s all. He’s been stuck in that cabin for three years now, so please be nice to him. He’s doing us a huge favor by coming here tonight.”

“Jesus!” Parrish mumbled. “That’s some crazy shit. How come he chose McCall and the Sheriff as the ones who can visit him?”

Derek’s intense eyes watched as the sheriff’s car approached, anticipation bubbling inside of him. “Scott and him have been best friends, brothers really, since they were in the crib, and the sheriff is his father.”

“What!” Parrish choked out, his eyes wide. “The sheriff has a son?”

“Stiles!” Derek whispered breathlessly as a young man stepped out of the sheriff’s cruiser with the help of Scott McCall.

“He’s so young,” Parrish said. “Why is he blindfolded and wearing headphones?”

“He’s seventeen,” Derek said softly, his eyes hungrily drinking in his fragile, too pale looking mate. It has been three years since he last laid eyes on Stiles, texting daily just wasn’t the same. He couldn’t even talk to or FaceTime Stiles, any contact with the outside ran the risk of spirits popping up. The dead were so attracted to Stiles that they would pop up in his room, not that he knew they were there, while he was talking to or FaceTiming Stiles. It hurt not being near his mate, sometimes even physically, but him stepping back had been the right thing to do. He never told Stiles they were mates, he hadn’t wanted Stiles to have choose between him and Scott, especially seeing as when Stiles went into isolation he had only been fourteen... way too young to be thinking about mates or boyfriends. At fourteen, Stiles had needed Scott more than him, he needed a friend his own age, not someone six years older than him.

“He was just a kid when he tried to kill himself,” Parrish gasped. “That’s horrible. What’s with the headphones and the blindfold?” He asked again.

“The blindfold is so he can’t see ghosts, and the headphones are blasting music so he can’t hear them. They overwhelm him, begging and pleading with him to help them. They also appear to him how they died, so if they were shot in the head then...”

“A ghost with half his head blown off will appear to him. Jesus, it’s amazing the kid is still sane,”

“Somewhat sane,” Derek snorted, a small smile on his face. “I don’t think Stiles Stilinski has ever been considered sane.”

“Derek,” Sheriff John Stilinski greeted, a hand cupping his son’s elbow as he walked towards him, leading Stiles with Scott’s assistance. “I heard that.”

“I speak nothing but the truth, sir.”

John rolled his eyes. “Yeah, I can’t argue with you there, Stiles has always been a handful.” John knew all about his son being the werewolf’s mate and he respected the hell out of Derek for stepping back so Stiles wouldn't have to choose between him and Scott. A decision like that wouldn’t have been fair to Stiles, especially with how traumatized he had been at the time. Not that he was much better now, three years later. Being isolated, cut off from the real world not even being able to take a step outside, wasn’t healthy for a person...not healthy physically, or mentally.

“Alpha,” Parrish said, bowling slightly.

“Jordan, how many times have I told you to just call me Talia?” Talia gently scolded.

“A couple dozen, mam,” Jordan blushed.

Derek desperately wanted to reach out and touch Stiles, the wolf inside of him was howling and clawing at him, frantic for any physical contact with its mate. He wished that he could say that Stiles looked good, better than the last time he saw him on the day he entered the cabin, but Stiles was too skinny, his skin so pale that his veins looked they were glowing under his translucent skin, and even with John and Scott each supporting an arm, he could see how badly his mate was trembling.

“John, maybe we shouldn’t do this,” Derek said, fearful for his mate. Stiles looked like he was going to pass out any second and he could scent the fear pouring off of him. 

John looked to son in concern. “I tried to talk him out of it, but when he heard how bad it was getting here he insisted on helping. He said ghosts only get this violent when they’re desperate to be heard. Whatever is going on here, it has to be big.”

“All the more reason he shouldn’t be doing this,” Derek argued. “He has been isolated for three years, going in that hell hole could overwhelm him and send him into shock. Whatever is going on in there, we can handle it.”

John opened him mouth to both agree and argue with Derek, when a tugging on his shirt by a pale and bony hand stopped him. “He wants to know what the hold up is?” Scott said, holding up his phone and showing the message.

“Of course my brat can text blindfolded.” John grunted fondly. “Alright, lets do this.” Staring hard at Derek for a second, he inclined his head then started heading towards the entrance of Eichen House. He understood Derek’s fears, they were his too, but Stiles not only wanted to do this, but he had insisted. Truthfully, Stiles was the only person who could solve this mystery, to figure out why the ghosts had all of a sudden turned violent. Not that they were ever peaceful, but there was a difference between screams, turning lights off and on, moving things, and just downright attacking. The violence started three weeks ago after the head doctor had a heart attack and they were only getting progressively worse.

Parrish blew out a loud breath. “We’re really doing this? We’re really entering a haunted insane asylum at night?”

“Yup!” Scott said, popping his p loudly. “Welcome to Beacon Hills, deputy.”

***TW

An anxious looking middle aged nurse greeted them at the door. “Oh, thank god you are here!” She wailed. “It’s already started. Just minutes ago one of the kitchen knives came out of nowhere at me.” With a trembling hand, she pointed at a large knife that was halfway imbedded in the wall behind her.

“I thought in a place like this it wasn’t safe to leave knifes laying around.” Parrish asked, his eyes on the knife.

“The knives are kept locked in a closet in the kitchen!” The nurse snapped angrily.

“Don’t mind him, he’s a rookie,” John chuckled.

“Sorry,” Parrish sheepishly apologized.

“Before we get started, are all the patients locked up?” John asked, worried about his son’s safety. A lot of the patients here were extremely violent and dangerous.

“Yes, sheriff.”

“How many staff are working tonight?”

“Including me, twenty eight. Twelve nurses, six orderlies, three guards, one doctor, two janitors, and three desk clerks, one on each level. Is it true, can your boy really communicate with the dead?”

“Unfortunately.”

“There’s been a lot of death here,” the nurse warned. “Everything from war injuries, accidents, suicides, natural causes, fights, medical mishaps, a patient even died giving birth here. It’s not going to be pleasant for him.” She honestly didn’t know if she believed that someone could communicate with the dead, but before taking this job twelve years ago she hadn’t believed in ghosts. She has seen and heard some crazy shit working here, so much so that she contemplated daily quitting, but Eichen House paid their employees extremely well, more than triple what she would make in a regular hospital. 

John warily stepped in front of his son, tapping his cheek three times. It was their signal, warning him that he was going to remove his headphones. Stiles wanted to do this in steps, the headphones first, and then the blindfold.

Stiles gasped the second the headphones were removed. Scrunching his face up, he slapped his hands over his ears. “Too loud. Too many of you,” he whimpered, his entire body trembling. “Please, if you want me to help, only one of you talk. I-I can’t do this with everyone shouting at me.”

Parrish tilted his his head from side to side trying to hear something, but all he could hear was the humming sound coming from the fluorescent lights overhead and the occasional opening and closing of a door.

John gently cupped his son’s face. “Breathe, Stiles, concentrate on my voice and try to block everyone else out.”

“There’s so many of them,” Stiles choked out, “but they’re not making any sense. They’re all talking over each other, some are speaking in different languages and others are just talking...”

“Crazy!” Derek finished. “This is a mental hospital, Stiles.”

“Derek!” Stiles cried, turning his head in the direction he heard his voice come from.

As worried as Derek was, he couldn’t help but smile at the excitement and happiness he could scent coming off of his mate. “Glad to see you still remember my voice.”

“Yeah, well who could forget that gruff and moody tone of yours.”

“Stiles,”John said, drawing his son’s attention back to him. “Remember what your mother use to tell you. You are stronger than the spirts, you can force them to shut up and disappear if you try hard enough.” His wife couldn’t talk to or see ghosts, but she was a spark and had gifts of her own. When Claudia had been alive she was able to help Stiles deal with his gift, help him deal with all the ghosts randomly popping up and hounding him, but after her death, what little control Stiles had, had died with her.

Taking a couple of deep, shaky breaths, Stiles jerkily nodded his head. “Back off!” He demanded, his voice slightly stronger. “I need you all to back the hell off or I’m going to leave. I want to help you, but I can’t unless you all shut the hell up!”

Stiles jumped when he heard a loud thump to his left. “What was that?”

“Did you see that?” Parrish gasped.

“Just a flying book crashing into the wall,” Scott said, trying to sound nonchalant, like it was something that happened everyday.

“The first ghost that hurts any of us...I’m out of here,” Stiles warned. “I know you want my help, but violence isn’t going to get you it.”

Stiles stood there quietly for a few minutes, his left hand clinging to his dad and his right hand to Scott. “They’re quiet, you can remove the blindfold.”

“Are you sure?” John asked, wanting nothing more then to scoop his son up and run back to the cabin with him.

“Y-Yeah,” Stiles stuttered nervously. “Yeah, lets do this.”

Closing his eyes, John took a moment to calm his beating heart before he pulled off his son’s blindfold. “Keep your eyes closed and give yourself a moment to adjust. You have been wearing that thing for over forty five minutes.”

Stiles started anxiously drumming his fingers on his pant legs. “Patience,” he warned when he heard an excited murmuring start up. “I want just one of you to step forward to communicate with me.”

“You’re doing good, kid,” John praised. “You’re the boss, you’re here to help them, make them listen to you.”

“I’m the boss,” Stiles repeated. “Be the boss. The boss! The Force! Use the Force. Luke, I am your...”

“Really, Star Wars?” Derek groaned in fond exasperation. “You’re still obsessed with Star Wars?”

“Obsessed is putting it lightly,” Scott snorted. “I don’t get it. He’s forced me to watch those movies at least two hundred times, and I’m still not a fan. The Ewoks are cute I guess.”

“Hopeless!” Stiles mumbled. “Okay, I’m going to open my eyes now.”

Derek was tense, so tense that his muscles were aching. “Just take your time.”

Stiles licked his lips a few times then switched to chewing on his bottom lip. Taking a breath and holding it, he opened his eyes.

Derek had been watching his mate like a hawk, so he had been prepared when Stiles’ legs gave out on him. “Easy!” He said, catching him and holding him gently.

Stiles started gasping, his breaths coming short and fast. “Oh god, there’s so many!”

Spinning him around, Derek placed his for forehead against Stiles’, forcing him to look at him. “Don’t look at them, look at me. Look at me, Stiles! They’re people, just people. Remember that time when you were ten and I took you to the mall so you could Christmas shop for your dad and Scott? Remember how packed it was and how I was starting to lose control? You grabbed my hand and told me they were just people and to ignore them. Ignore them, Stiles!”

Stiles was sobbing as he clung to Derek. “There’s so many of them, and it’s so bad.”

“They’re just people,” Derek repeated as he started rubbing circles on the back of Stiles’ neck.

“Dead people, Derek,” Stiles sobbed. “I’m scared!”

“They’re not going to hurt you, they just want your help. They’re desperate, something is going on and you’re the only one who can help them.”

“I know,” Stiles said in a small voice. “I know! I-I’m sorry for losing it.”

“Stiles, you lost it a long time ago.”

Still crying, Stiles started laughing. “When did you get so stupidly good looking?”

John groaned. “No brain to mouth filter.”

Smirking, Derek squeezed the back of his mate’s neck. “I have always been good looking.”

“Three years ago you were all angry eyebrows and grumpy, pouty lips.” Reaching out, Stiles poked at Derek’s arms and chest. “Dude, do all those muscles hurt?”

“I can’t believe I missed you,” Derek mumbled jokingly.

Talia cleared her throat, a grin on her face. “Alright, boys, we’re here for a reason. Stiles, you can grope my son and his eyebrows later.”

“Well this is embarrassing,” Stiles said as he stepped away from Derek, his face flushed. Turning back around, but hand reaching out and gripping Derek’s, he once again looked around the massive room. There were a lot of ghosts, all staring at him like he was the answer to their prayers, like he was Jesus and could save them all, but he quickly looked past them to a tall, thin black man who was staring at him with such intensity that it was giving him the chills. 

Parrish was watching the boy, goosebumps breaking out on his arms. Despite him not being able to see anyone, he could tell that Stiles was seeing things, seeing dead people. “What do they look like?”

“Like normal people but with their colors slightly faded. They look exactly like they did on the day they died.” Stiles looked to a young woman with a sheet wrapped tightly around her neck. “Depending on how they died, they can have a shadow of what killed them with them. Like if someone hung themselves using a sheet, they’ll still have the sheet around their neck.”

“And do you see anyone like that?” Parrish asked as he looked to where Stiles was looking,

Stiles’ eyes quickly scanned the room. “I see six suicides by hanging,”

“Jesus!” Parrish gasped, paling.

Stiles didn’t want to talk anymore about the dead people he could see, so he focused back on the black man, he could tell that this was the ghost that was going to be the one communicating with him. “Can you tell me why you’re angry, why you have been attacking the living?”

Eyes unblinking, the black man slowly shook his head no, his hand coming up to cup his throat. Exhaling, Stiles closed his eyes. “Of course you can’t talk, that would have made things too easy.”

“Stiles,” John called warily.

Sighing, Stiles looked to his dad. “He can’t talk, which means I’m going to have to let him touch me so he can show me his memories. It’s not pleasant, it’s like being sucked back in time and watching the events as they play out, but it’s the only way he can communicate with me.”

“You said that you hated when they did that to you, that it drained you and made you feel sick,” Derek argued. “Is there someone else you can communicate with?”

Stiles could see that the other ghosts desperately wanted to communicate with him, to beg him to help them with their own issues, but there was something urgent that needed his attention, something so urgent that the other ghosts were willing to put their own issues aside. Normally ghosts were very selfish, only caring about what happened to them, their own unresolved issues and what was going to happen to their loved ones. They would relentlessly hound him, demanding that he help them. They would haunt his every second, following him from room to room, to school, and even to the bathroom, screaming at him that he needed to help them, not even letting him sleep. For all these ghosts, and there were probably over fifty of them, to keep quiet and do nothing, something big was happening. 

Looking back to the man, Stiles bit his lip when he shook his head no. “No, it’s got to be him. He wants me to see exactly what happened.”

“Fucking ghosts!” Derek snarled. “The last time you did this you slept for three days after.”

Stiles grimaced. “Yeah, that really sucked, but I’m older now and the last time that happened I hadn’t been prepared for it. The bastard just grabbed me and violently forced his memories into my head.

“Stiles, you don’t have to do this,” John said gravely.

Stiles tensed when all the ghosts started moving around in agitation. “No, I do, dad. There’s something going on, something that they’re desperate for me to see.” Letting Derek’s hand go, he walked up to the ghost then held his hand out for him to take.

***TW

Stiles’s entire body jerked then locked up the second the ghost came in contact with him. Whimpering, he forced himself not to pull away from the ghost. Sensing movement next to him and hearing a growling, he shook his head no. “I-I’m f-fine, Derek, it’s just not a good feeling.”

“Don’t do this,” Derek growled anxiously, desperate to pull his mate to his chest.

Stiles felt like he was going to vomit when he felt the room blur and shift. Squeezing his eyes shut, he waited until the dizzy feeling went away before reopening his eyes. Looking around, he noticed that he was in the same room, the main lobby, of Eichen House, everything just looked newer and fresher. He was surprised and relieved to see that even though he was seeing the past, he could also still see his and hear his dad, Derek and everyone else.

“Where are you, son?”

“Here,” Stiles murmured as he continued to scope out the room, his eyes landing on an identical version of the ghost at his side, only this version was alive and still breathing. The man, who looked to be in his early twenties and a patient, was leaning against the wall swaying back and forth as he tapped his hand against his chest in a repetitive rhythm. The man was chewing on his lips whimpering every few minutes as he stared at the doors like he was anxiously waiting for someone to walk through them. He perked up excitedly when the door opened, but slumped back against the wall when a woman walked in with a little girl at her side. Obviously these weren’t the people the man was hoping to see.

Stiles watched as the woman approached the welcome desk, the little girl at her side skipping next to her, a white stuffed bunny tucked under her arm. The girl was adorable, with waist length blonde hair and big blue eyes. He wasn’t familiar with kids, but she couldn’t be no older than five years old. She was wearing a cute white dress with pink and purple flowers, a white straw hat that also had pink and purple flowers on it, and little white dress shoes that made a tapping sound as the girl walked. He could tell that she liked the sound of her shoes because she was walking and skipping extra hard, giggling as her new shoes click clacked with each step.

“I think it’s Easter,” Stiles said, noticing for the first time spring flowers scattered throughout the room.

“Can you tell what year?” John asked as he hovered anxiously close to his son.

“No, I, wait...” Stiles said as he looked to the nurse behind the desk, it was the same nurse that greeted them when they arrived. She looked younger, but not by much. “I don’t think it was that long ago, couple years maybe. I think maybe it’s a visitation day.”

“We allow visitors on the last Saturday of each month for those patients allowed visitors, as well as each holiday,” the nurses explained.

Stiles didn’t hear what the woman with the little girl said to the nurse, but he watched as she signed a visitors log then took her daughter’s hand. The nurse walked around the desk and motioned for the woman and little girl to follow her.

Feeling a tugging on his hand, Stiles looked to the ghost, whose eyes were on the little girl. “Are we following them?” He asked. The ghost didn’t answer, just took a step forward.

“Stiles?” John asked, not sure what was going on.

“We have to follow them,” Stiles answered as he started walking across the room and heading towards a long hallway. It was the same hallway the live version of his ghost was standing near, his eyes still pinned hopefully on the door.

“Who are we following?” Scott asked as he kept by his best friend’s side.

“Dwayne, darling,” the past nurse said as she stopped next to the patient. “You know you’re supposed to wait in the visitors lounge for your mom and brother. Come along, dear.” The guy looked like he wanted to argue, but the little girl’s giggles distracted him. With one last longing look at the door, he followed the nurse and the woman with the little girl down the hallway.

Stiles looked to the ghost as he followed the group. “Your name was Dwayne?”

“Dwayne,” the nurse gasped. “Tall, young, black man?” 

“Yes,” Stiles answered, not looking at the nurse but keeping his eyes on the people they were following. They were coming up on what looked to be a large room with the doors propped open, multiple voices could be heard coming from inside.

“Dwayne Sanders was a patient here six years ago. He was a transfer from a hospital in New York City. He was seventeen when he was jumped by a group of thugs, some kind of gang initiation. Apparently Dwayne was an extremely smart kid, attended a school for the gifted and had just received a full ride to MIT. They beat him bad, almost killed him. Along with multiple broken bones, he suffered severe brain damage. Dwayne went from being a genius, to having the mentality of a toddler. He couldn’t even talk.”

“Sounds like he would have been better off dead,” Parrish said sadly. “Why was he sent here, I thought this place was more for people with severe, crazy mental issues?”

“Eichen House takes patients with all kinds of long term mental issues. For the most part Dwayne was a good kid, but his meltdowns were extremely violent and dangerous, too much for his family to handle. He was here for about four years before he passed.”

“How did he die?” Talia asked as she looked around the massive room they just stepped into. The room was at lest three times larger than the main lobby with multiple chairs and tables spread throughout. The room was very open with one wall made up of mostly windows. It was dark now, but during the day this room was probably very bright and welcoming. Probably the only warm and welcoming place in all of Eichen House.

“Brain aneurysm,” the nurse answered sadly. “It happened so fast. Dwayne was having one of his meltdowns, fighting the head doctor, while waiting for his mom and brother to visit, and he just dropped dead. It was so heartbreaking, he had been waiting all day to see his family and he never got to see them one last time.”

Stiles winced when his hand was squeezed painfully hard. “Yeah, I don’t think that’s how he died.”

“It was,” the nurses defended. “I was working when it happened.”

Stiles watched as the little girl ran up to an old lady, a big smile on her face. “Grandma!” She cried happily. Stiles didn’t miss how both Dwaynes were watching the little girl. “I-I don’t think this is just about Dwayne.”

“Isn’t he the ghost you’re communicating with?” John asked.

Feeling eyes on him, Stiles looked up at ghost Dwayne, surprised to find that he was staring at him, his eyes filled with sadness. Inclining his head, he looked back to the little girl. “He is, but I think this has to do with a kid, a little girl. She’s five maybe, all dressed up in her Easter dress with a little white stuffed bunny.’

Both John and the nurse inhaled sharply. “Anna Lee Webber.” John gasped.

“My little, Anna Apple,” the old lady said warmly as she tried to bend down to greet her granddaughter. 

Stiles nodded his head. “Her grandmother called her...”

“Anna Apple,” the nurse finished, her voice choking up.

“I remember now,” Talia said thoughtfully. “She went missing from here about five years ago.”

“Six years” John corrected. “It was my first big case as sheriff, right after Claudia died.”

“The poor dear,” the nurse sniffed. “A mountain lion drug her off. All that was found of her was her little white shoe covered in blood.”

Looking over the nurse’s head to John, Talia shook her head no. Her and her family had scouted every inch of the miles thick forest surrounding Eichen House and there hadn’t been a mountain lion track or scent to be found. Unfortunately by the time the pack arrived, cops and search teams were already wandering the forest so they weren’t able to pick up a possible kidnapper’s scent. She never believed that a wild animal made off with the child, and she had told John that, but at the time they had no other leads and a shoe covered in the girl’s blood was enough for officials to close the case, declaring it an animal attack. Even if it had been an animal attack, she would have found something of Anna, even if only bones.

Stiles watched as the grandmother and mother took a seat at a table and started talking. They were so engrossed in their conversation that they never noticed Anna Lee wandering out door. Dwayne had noticed though. He tried making a few grunting noises to get the mother’s attention, but when that didn’t work he got up and followed the little girl out the door.

This time when he felt a tugging, Stiles knew that the ghost wanted to follow. “We’re moving again,” he warned.

“What’s going on?” Derek asked.

“Anna wandered out of the visitors hall alone, Dwayne followed her.”

“This is about what happened to Anna Lee Webber.” John said breathlessly. He had always wondered about what really happened to the little girl. He had wanted to keep the case open, he believed and trusted Talia when she said it wasn’t an animal attack, but her parents had wanted the case closed after only two weeks of searching for her body. They had proclaimed that it was too painful and they needed closure. They had accepted that a mount lion had killed a taken their little girl.

The group wandered Eichen House, through multiple halls and up to the second level. “We have been walking for at least fifteen minutes, how had no one noticed her missing by now?” Parrish asked is disbelief.

“We did,” the nurse defended. “But since the visitors hall is on the bottom floor, we focused our search there and outside in the courtyard. We didn’t start searching the rest of the hospital until after the police arrived.”

“How come none of the doors had locks on them or any other kind of security? If a five year old can freely wander around here then a patient can easily walk out.” 

“This was six years ago, deputy,” the nurse answered, trying to remain calm. Her nerves were already frayed, all the questioning wasn’t helping. “Things were different back then. We had locks for every door on the third level, our high security level, as well as locks on the doors that led to the outside and to the stairwells, but security wasn’t as tight back then. Things are different now, we have much better security, but at the end of the day, this facility is a hospital, not a prison.”

“Do you think this Dwayne guy hurt her?” Scott asked.

Stiles stopped when they came to a long hallway. “No, he didn’t hurt her,’ he said, noticing that there was someone watching Anna from the opposite end of the hall. It was hard to tell from this distance, but he looked like a staff member, not a patient.

John was looking to where his son was looking, but all he saw was an empty hallway lined with doors that were shut. They were currently on the second level. “What do you see, son?”

“A man,” Stiles answered as he slowly started to make his way down the hall. He didn’t know if it was the energy ghost Dwayne was putting off or just his own instincts screaming at him, but he had a very bad feeling about this.

“Well hello there, beautiful,” a man’s voice said.

Stiles shivered, the man’s voice sounded kind enough, but he could tell that it was fake. He also didn’t like the way the man was looking at Anna, it was creepy and disturbing and just the look in his eyes was enough to make him feel vile and dirty. Looking to the name tag pinned on the man’s chest, he read. “Dr. William Monroe.”

The nurse inhaled sharply, slapping her hand over her mouth. “Dr. Monroe is head doctor here.”

“The one who suffered a heart attack three weeks ago?” John asked sharply.

“Yes, but Dr. Monroe is the kindest man you’ll ever meet. He would have never have hurt that little girl.”

Stiles gagged in revulsion when the Dr licked his lips before stooping down to Anna’s level. “He’s a fucking creeper,” he snarled, wishing that he could reach out for either his dad or Derek for support. He didn’t understand why Derek all of a sudden made him feel safe, but he didn’t think he could go another three years without seeing him again.

“What’s your name, sweetie?” Dr Monroe asked as he reached out and ran a finger down Anna’s cheek.

“That tickles,” Anna giggled. “My name is Anna Lee Webber.”

“Well, Anna, what are you doing wandering around here?”

“Just walking,” Anna said, shrugging her little shoulders. “Mommy was taking too long with grandma and I got bored.”

“Is that right?” Dr. Monroe said his eyes lighting up. “How about if I take you back to your mommy, but take you a secret away? It will be our little adventure.”

“Fuck!” Stiles gagged, wanting to throw up.

John reached our for his son, but snatched his hand back knowing that he couldn’t touch him while he was doing this. “What’s going on?” He asked, hating that he couldn’t see what was happening.

“He’s going to hurt her,” Stiles sniffed, a tear falling from his eye. Heart pounding, he looked up to ghost Dwayne. “Please tell me that I don’t have to watch him hurt her.” Dwayne didn’t say anything, just stared at him with his unblinking, sad eyes.

Stiles reluctantly turned back, just in time to watch Dr. Monroe pick up Anna and place her on his hip. “Dwayne!” Dr. Monroe said just now noticing the patient. “What are you doing on the second floor, aren’t you supposed to be downstairs with your mother and brother?”

Dwayne didn’t say anything, but Stiles could tell by the way he was swaying and frantically tapping his fingers on his legs that he was upset. “You knew?” He said looking back to ghost Dwayne. “You knew that he was a bad man and was going to hurt her but you couldn’t help her.”

“Jesus!” John hissed.

“Dwayne, it was very nice of you to follow little Anna to make sure she didn’t get lost or hurt, but I can take her from here, I want you to go back downstairs!”

Dwayne started getting more agitated. Bringing his hand up, he smacked himself in the head three times, moaning loudly.

“Leave, Dwayne!” Dr. Monroe snarled. “I’d hate for you to miss your mom and brother, and if you don’t listen to me, I can make so they don’t visit next month”

Dwayne looked back down the hall towards the stairs, then back at Anna who was still in Dr. Monroe’s arms. Stiles could see in Dwayne’s eyes that he desperately wanted to see his mom and brother, but that he was also scared for Anna and wanted to help her.

“Fine!” Dr. Monroe snapped. “If you’re not going to listen, then I’m going to sedate you.”

Dwayne started moaning loader, hitting at the wall. With one last look at Anna, he turned and slowly started to make his way back down the hall. Stiles didn’t know whether to be relieved that he wouldn’t have to see Dr. Creeper hurt Anna, or furious because Dwayne left her. He didn’t have long to think on it, because as soon as Dr. Monroe turned and entered his office, Dwayne turned back around.

“Oh, you’re slick!” Stiles said, looking to ghost Dwayne.

“What’s happening now?” John asked in frustration,

“Dr. Creeper took Anna into his office, Dwayne is peeping in on him through the window.”

John stepped up to the office door and peeked in. From what he could tell it looked like a typical office with a desk, a bookshelf, a television on one wall, a giant window, and pictures of Dr. Monroe’s wife and three kids scattered throughout. 

“I need to see, dad,” Stiles snapped, wanting to shove his dad aside. He didn’t want to see anything bad happen, but he needed to know what happened to Anna.

John watched as his son looked through the window, his eyes widening until he finally flew backwards, his back slamming against the wall. Dropping his head, he started shaking and sobbing.

***TW

Stiles could hear his dad, Derek and Scott calling his name, but his head was spinning madly as he was ejected out of Dwayne’s memory and back into present time. Trembling, he waited until the spinning stopped before carefully opening his eyes. Ignoring his dad for now, he looked past him to ghost Dwayne who was still standing by the doctor’s door. “I’m so sorry,” he cried brokenly. “You were only trying to help, you didn’t deserve to die. I’m so sorry you never got to see your mom and brother again.”

“Stiles, what the hell, son! What happened?”

Stiles was still crying hard, so hard that it was hard for him to breath. “He killed Dwayne! Dr. Monroe killed Dwayne because he saw him take Anna and he tried to help her. Dwayne could have walked away like Dr. Monroe ordered, but he refused.”

The nurse frantically shook her head no. “You’re wrong, Dr. Monroe wouldn’t do that, his patients are his life. He’s been working here for over twenty years. I don’t know why you’re lying, but this whole damn thing is nothing but farce.”

“He’s not lying!” Derek snarled as he grabbed his crying mate and hugged him tightly. He knew Stiles wasn’t lying, there was no skip to his heartbeat. 

“He has to be lying,” The nurse said, though there was a bit of uncertainty in her voice. “Dr. Monroe is a good man who is devoted to his family and his church. He wouldn’t hurt a patient...or a little girl. Anna Lee Webber wandered outside where she was attacked and drug off by a mountain lion.”

“Son, how did Dwayne die?”

“Leave him alone!” Derek growled, his eyes flashing gold. Luckily the nurse was behind him so she hadn’t seen his little slip. “Can’t you see he’s hurting? Give him a minute.”

Stiles started struggling to get out of Derek’s arms. “No, I have to get this done. There’s more.” Getting to his feet with the help of Scott, who was the first to reach him when he started swaying, he walked back to the door. “Dwayne watched as Dr. Monroe carried Anna to a secret room or something, I’m not exactly sure because I couldn’t see. He was only gone for about ten minutes, but when he returned and found Dwayne in his office, he freaked out. Dwayne knew the doctor was bad, yet he still refused to leave when the doctor ordered him. Dr. Monroe started yelling at Dwayne and pushing him, so Dwayne started pushing back and lashing out. He wasn’t trying to hurt the doctor though, he was trying to get to Anna to help her. Dwayne managed to get past the doctor, but then the doctor shot him with something in the neck. I don’t know what it was, but it dropped Dwayne instantly. His heart stopped beating just a few minutes later.”

“No! No, you’re wrong! Dwayne was having one of his fits and he attacked the doctor, I saw the scratches and the bruises on Dr. Monroe. Dr. Monroe said he administered a sedative, but Dwayne died before it had a chance to take effect. Dwayne died of a brain aneurysm, common for patients with such severe brain injuries.” 

“Was an autopsy done?” John asked.

“I-I don’t know. I’m assuming one was done, autopsies are always done, even on the suicide cases.”

“Stiles, what about Anna?” Talia asked gently. She was worried about Stiles, his heart was racing dangerously fast and he was so weak that he couldn’t stand without help.

“Anna!” Stiles said as he reached out and tried opening the doctors door. He cursed when he found it was locked. “Open the door!” He demanded.

“I don’t have a key,” the nurse cried. “Only the head janitor and Dr. Monroe have keys and they’re not here.”

Stiles jumped when Dwayne started banging on the door, desperate to get in. “I need to get in there.” Stiles cried.

“Well you can’t!” The nurse snapped.

With his eyes pleading, Stiles looked to Derek. “Please, Derek, I need to get in there. This isn’t over yet. We have to find out what happened to Anna.”

“Step aside!” Derek said gruffly.

Stiles was quick to get out of the way, but the nurse refused. “What do you think you’re going to do?”

Chuckling, Talia grabbed the woman by the shirt and yanked her out of the way. “My son is going to do as his mate asked, he’s going to get that door open.”

It only took one kick from Derek for the door to go flying off its hinges. Ignoring the nurse’s screams of outrage, Stiles rushed into the room, following ghost Dwayne who made a beeline straight for the bookshelf. “There’s a secret passageway behind the bookshelf.” Looking to Dwayne, he watched as the ghost tried to grab one of the books on the third shelf.

Pulling out the book, Stiles took a step back when the bookshelf started creaking, opening to reveal a set of dark stairs. “Anyone got a flashlight?”

“No you don’t, kiddo,” John said, grabbing his son by the back of his shirt and gently forcing him into Derek’s arms. “You’re not going down there,’

“Like hell!” Stiles fought. “Anna’s body could be down there.”

“All the more reason why you’re not going down there. You’re only seventeen, you don’t need to see the body, or what’s left of it, of a dead a child.”

“Oh my god, dad, I have been seeing dead people my entire life! This is my case and I’m going to see it to the end, it’s the only way Dwayne can cross over.”

Gritting his teeth, John pinched the bridge of his nose. “Fine, but you stay between Derek and Scott. Talia, Parrish, you get behind me. We don’t know what or who is down here.”

“I’m coming too,” the nurse said, though she sounded like it was the last thing she wanted to do.

Grabbing his flashlight off of his belt, John flicked it on. Even with the light, it was still too dark and he couldn’t see the bottom.

“John, from what I can tell, this leads below the first level. There must be a basement to this place.” Talia said, her red eyes glowing.

“Can we please just go!” Stiles called from the middle of the group. “Dwayne is getting restless.” The ghost was next to him, moaning loudly and banging on the wall.

Derek, who was in front of Stiles, turned to him. “Let me carry you.”

“Excuse me?” Stiles squeaked out.

“You’re tired, Stiles, and there’s at least fifty steps, if not more. I can carry you.”

“Yeah, that’s a pass big guy. I’m not a damsel in distress in need of rescuing.” Though there was a part of Stiles that wanted to feel Derek’s arms around him again. What the hell was going on with him?

“Fine, but I’m not catching you if you fall!”

“Yes you will.” Talia said, shaking her head fondly at her son. There was nothing Derek wouldn't do for his mate.

It took about five minutes for the group to reach the bottom of the stairs, but they had taken their time. Despite Stiles’ protests, the stairs had taken a lot out of him and he was huffing and puffing and pouring in sweat. “Hey, pops, I think maybe for my birthday you better get me a treadmill. I’m hella out of shape.”

“Maybe if you did more then watch tv and play video games you’d be in better shape. I’m honestly surprised you’re not a hundred pounds overweight.”

“That’s rude, dad, very rude. I do more then watch tv and play video games. I also do my online schooling and read books.”

“That’ll get you fit,” John chuckled. Spotting a light switch, he flicked it on, the lights coming to life with a loud hum. They were in a long hallway, everything concrete, the floor, the walls and the ceiling, with no windows and about a dozen heavy steel doors, six on each side of the hall. It was cold and damp and musty smelling, and the lights kept flickering and dimming.

“Well this isn’t ominous,” Stiles said, shivering violently. 

Derek quickly shimmied out of his jacket then draped it over his mate’s shoulders. “You don’t have an ounce of meat on your bones to keep you warm.”

Blushing, Stiles snuggled into the heavy leather jacket, inhaling Derek’s amazing scent. He didn’t know if it was because he has spent the last three years isolated with only Scott and his dad visiting, but he was getting some serious tingly feelings where Derek was concerned.

“Where do we start?” Parrish asked, his hand lingering near his gun.

“Last door on the left,” Stiles said, looking to Dwayne who was standing next to the door.

The group started to make their way to the door, but Stiles’ feet refused to move. “Stiles, you coming?” Scott asked, making the rest of the group stop and look back at him.

“Son?” John questioned.

“She was just a little girl and the way he looked at her.” Stiles felt bile burn the back of his throat. “Dad, he did more then just kill her.” Banging and moaning had Stiles looking back to Dwayne. He was about to say something sarcastic to the ghost, when the ghost’s actions had him cocking his head curiously to the side. Alive Dwayne had always been drumming his fingers on his pants or his chest, but ghost Dwayne was jerking his hand up with his thumb sticking up. Eyes widening in recognition, Stiles took off sprinting down the hall.

“Stiles!” John yelled, chasing after his son.

Skidding to a halt, Stiles grabbed the door knob, crying out in frustration when it refused to turn. “Open up you stupid piece of ancient fucking shit!”

“Stiles!” John scolded angrily.

“Dad! Dad, we have to get in there! We have to get in there now!”

“Stiles, you need to calm down,” John said calmly, hoping his voice would calm his son.

Stiles was still uselessly pulling on the door handle. “Please open!” He cried.

“John, his heart is racing.” Talia warned. “He’s going to pass out.”

“Derek, get him out of here!” John barked. “I should have never let him do this.’

Stiles started screaming when thick arms wrapped around him from behind. “No! No! You don’t understand. She’s alive! Anna is alive!”

“What?” Everyone cried in shock.

“She’s alive!” Stiles panted, repeating the hand movement Dwayne had been doing. “This means alive in sign language. Dwayne’s been doing this since we got down here.”

“Stiles, I don’t hear a heart beat.” Talia said sadly.

Stiles shook his head no, his eyes welling up with tears. “Don’t say that, she’s alive. She has to be.”

“Derek, get the door,” Talia ordered heavily, tears stinging her own eyes.

Derek reached for the knob then quickly yanked his hand back with a loud hiss. “Mountain Ash!”

“That could be why I can’t hear anything,” Talia said, trying not to get her hopes up.

Rolling his sleeve up, Parrish stepped up to door. “Stand back, I’m still new at this.” Concentrating, he set just his hand on fire then reached out for the handle. Fire produced by hell hounds were much hotter than normal fire so it took less then a minute for Parrish to melt the handle right off. 

“Wait!” Stiles cried suddenly when John went to burst into the room. “Guys, if Anna is still alive, she has been kept down here for six years. She’s not a five year old little girl anymore, she’s an eleven year old who has spent the last six years suffering at Dr. Monroe’s hands. I know he was going to rape her, I could see it in his eyes. We all can’t just go bursting in there, we’ll scare her to death.”

John placed a firm hand on his son’s shoulder. “Son, Dr. Monroe has been in the hospital for three weeks, if she didn’t have food and water down here with her, or if no one else knew about her to take care of her, then she’s not going to be in good shape...not that I’m expecting her to be in good shape anyway after spending six years down here.”

“I hear a heart beat.” Scott said anxiously, bouncing on the balls of his feet.

John looked to Talia for confirmation. “I hear it too,” Talia confirmed.

Slipping out from under his dad’s hand, Stiles slowly entered the room. The room was cold and bare with just a toilet, a sink, and a bed that was against the far wall. Hearing something crinkle under his shoe, he looked down to find a granola bar wrapper. Scanning the room, he found at least a dozen more wrappers. “At least she’s had food and water.” He whispered.

“Anna Lee Webber?” John called softly as he approached the bed. All he could see sticking out from the mound of blankets was long, matted, blonde hair. “Anna, I’m Sheriff John Stilinski, we have come to help you.”

Stiles went to approach the bed, when Derek stopped him. “Let your dad handle this, it’s his job.”

“My dad is also a man, and it’s a man that has spent the last six years hurting her.”

“You’re a man too,” Derek pointed out.

“Barely,” Stiles snorted. “I’m a hell of a lot less threatening looking than my dad.”

The mound of blankets shifted ever so slightly, a small whimper coming from under them. “She knows we’re here, her heart rate has picked up,” Talia informed.

“Anna, no one here is going to hurt you, we’re here to help you.” Before John could take another step towards the bed, a small body launched off of it and flew across the room and into a corner where it stood trembling, too thin arms wrapped around its middle, eyes wide with terror. The severely malnourished child was wearing only an old hospital gown that barely covered her bottom, old bruises visible on her stick like legs.

“Everyone out!” Talia said, taking charge. She was not only an alpha, but she was also a mother and her heart was bleeding for the poor girl. She could scent that the child had spent the past six years being sexually abused by the doctor, the last thing she needed now was to be crowded by more men.

“Oh, sweet Jesus!” The nurse gasped. “It’s really little Anna.”

Talia looked seriously to her son. “Derek, take the nurse back up to the main floor and find out if she saw anything.” Meaning Parrish and his fire hands. “If she did, have the talk with her.” She wouldn’t risk the nurse blabbing, she’d remove her memories first if she refused to cooperate.

Derek looked to his mate, not wanting to leave Stiles. Stiles was not only upset over the discovery on Anna, but he was also growing weaker by the minute. Stiles hadn’t been healthy looking before this hole thing started, he honestly didn’t look much healthier than Anna, but communicating with the ghost the way he had, had drained him of what energy he had left.

Sensing his pack mate’s reluctance, Scott gave Derek a nudge towards the nurse. “I got Stiles. You know I won’t let anything happen to him. You take care of her.”

Derek knew that Scott wouldn’t let anything happen to Stiles, but it didn’t make leaving his mate any easier. “Don’t take your eyes off of him!” He growled.

“John, this needs to be handled carefully,” Talia said as she looked back to the little girl who reminded her more of an injured, terrified, wild animal than an eleven year old girl. “I know you have to call this in and do everything by the book, just don’t let the media catch wind of this. I want her out of here and in the hospital before this place gets crawling with people and I don’t want her mother finding out about her daughter on the evening news or by some eager reporter banging on her door wanting to be the first to get an interview.”

“Parrish, I want you to go to the hospital now and station yourself outside the doctor’s room, but don’t let on what is going on.” Talia ordered. “You are to remain there until you hear from me, or the sheriff directly. That bastard is not going to get away with this.”

Approaching his son, John cupped his cheeks. “I have to go up to the main level to call this in, are you coming with me or are you remaining here?” He honestly wasn’t sure if his son could physically climb the stairs back up to the top,. Stiles was swaying on his feet as it was.

“I, uhm...” Stiles looked to Dwayne when he grunted at him. “I think I’m still needed here.” He answered, noticing that the ghost was trying to communicate something to him.

John eyes flicked to the empty spot his son was staring at. “You sure? Kid, you did good, better than good. You did amazing tonight, it’s okay to call it quits. I have your headphones and blindfold if you need them.”

“I’m good, dad,” Stiles said shakily. “Dwayne is still here so there still something tying him here and keeping him from moving on.”

John nodded his head. “Okay. I’ll try to be quick, but I’ll probably remain up there until backup arrives. I want this place secure before the media gets wind that something’s going on.”

“I’m fine, dad,” Stiles reassured. “I got my trusty guard wolf with me.”

“Look after my boy, Scott,” John said, clapping the werewolf on the shoulder as he passed him.

“So what now?” Scott sighed. Both boys were standing out in the hall while Talia was trying to calm Anna.

“Now we figure out what else Dwayne needs so he can cross over.”

“Are there other ghosts down here?”

Stiles looked around then shook his head no. “The others stayed behind, but I’m sure as soon as Dwayne is finished with me they’ll move in for the kill. I’m actually surprised they stayed away this long.”

“Think there’s anyone else behind these other doors?” Scott asked curiously, as he eyed up the door closest to him.

Looking to Dwayne, Stiles breathed a sigh of relief when he ghost shook his head no. “Dwayne said no, but I have a feeling at one time they housed people. Come on, Dwayne’s walking back towards the stairs.”

“Can you climb back up them?”

“Hell no!” Stiles scoffed. “Coming down them about killed me. Just don’t tell Derek. Speaking of Derek, Scotty my best buddy, my brother from another mother, what did Talia mean when she called me Derek’s mate?”

“What? I, uhm, I don’t know what you’re talking about, Stiles. I-I never heard her say anything about mate.” Scott said, flustered.

Stiles started laughing. “Honestly, you’d think after seventeen years of hanging out with me you would have learned how to lie by now.”

“I’m not lying!” Scott cried, his voice two octaves too high.

“Dude, you have had the same tells since you were seven. You stutter, your eyes start darting all over the room, and the tips of ears turn bright red. Now fess up.”

Scott threw his hands up into the air. “Fine, you’re Derek’s mate.”

Stiles stopped dead in his tracks. “You’re not lying are you?” He asked, eyes wide.

“No! You, Stiles Stilinski are Derek Hales mate.” 

“How long has he known?” Stiles asked numbly.

Scott shrugged his shoulders. “Since he was like thirteen and sniffed you out. Luckily with your mom being a spark and knowing all about the supernatural, she didn’t try to kill Talia when she knocked on the door to break the news to your parents. It’s why Derek’s always been so protective over you.”

“Why didn’t he tell me I was his mate? I don’t understand, I have been hiding in the cabin for three years, and I’d still be there if it hadn’t been for this case. I planned on never leaving the damn cabin.”

“Stiles, you were just a kid when you went into isolation, and you were only allowed two visitors. He didn’t want you to choose between me and him.”

“I-I don’t know what to say?” Stiles said, thinking over what Scott had said. At fourteen, had he known that he was Derek’s mate, he honestly don’t know what he would have done. He knew about the importance of mates, but he hadn’t given any thought to boyfriends or girlfriends back then. He had been in a very bad place when he was fourteen, and at the time all he had wanted to do was die so he could get away from the ghosts that were hounding him night and day. He had tried to kill himself, he downed an entire bottle of his mom’s old prescription pain pills, but Scott had walked in on him taking his last pill and had called the ambulance. If Deaton hadn’t found the spell to hide him, there’s no doubt in his mind that he would have continued to try to end his own life. 

“I-I wouldn’t have been able to handle knowing that I was Derek’s mate when I was fourteen,” Stiles admitted in a small voice.

“That’s why I didn’t say anything,” Derek said, stepping down from the last step. He hadn’t exactly been ease dropping, but he had heard everything.

“Didn’t it hurt you being away from me for three years? I know we texted, but that’s not the same as physical contact, something I know your wolf needs after scenting it’s mate.”

“It did, but watching you suffer hurt me more. Stiles, when he tried to kill yourself...I felt it! I was hours away at the police academy, but I felt your misery and pain. I’m the one who called, first your dad, and when I couldn’t get in touch with him, I called Scott to see if he was with you. I needed you safe, and if that meant never seeing you again, I was willing to accept that. Stiles, you mean everything to me.”

Sniffling, Stiles rushed to Derek, throwing himself at him. “I’m sorry! I’m so sorry I hurt you, I didn’t mean to.”

Wrapping his arms around his mate, Derek buried his nose in his neck, inhaling his amazing, intoxicating scent. “I know you didn’t, Stiles. For years I watched as you struggled with your gift feeling helpless that I couldn’t help you. After you went into isolation I knew that I still couldn’t help you, but Scott could. You needed Scott, your best friend and brother, I was okay stepping back and just texting you everyday.”

“I need you,” Stiles said, crying into Derek’s chest. “I need you now. I don’t want to go back to the cabin, but I don’t know how else to keep the ghosts away. If it was just one or two popping up every now and again I could deal with it and help them move on, but there’s so many and they won’t leave me alone.” 

“I know, and I don’t want you hurting because of me. You have to go back to the cabin when this is over.”

“I don’t want to be alone anymore. Dad and Scott visit, dad almost everyday, but I’m still alone ninety percent of the time.”

“Then we’ll figure something out,” Derek said, not really believing his words. He wasn’t the biggest fan of Deaton’s but he knew that the druid had searched tirelessly for months trying to help Stiles. If isolating Stiles in the cabin was all he could find, then he wouldn’t be able to find another way.

“I miss going out. I miss the diner, the arcade, the movies, the park, I even miss fucking school. I’m slowly dying in that cabin, Derek.”

“Have you told anyone about how you’re feeling?” Derek asked. Looking to Scott, he could tell by the tears in his eyes that he hadn’t known how much being locked in the cabin was killing Stiles.

“I can’t hurt dad and Scott even more by telling them how fucking miserable I am. Dad will freak out and start the Stiles suicide watch club again.”

“There’s got to be a way, Stiles, we’ll figure something out. Let’s just get through this and then we’ll put our heads together.”

“Sounds kinky!” Stiles laughed wetly. Stepping away from Derek, he rubbed at his nose. “Sorry for the snot on your uniform.” 

“It’s just snot, Stiles.”

Taking a couple minutes to collect himself, Stiles took a deep breath then turned to find where Dwayne went. He about choked on his laughter when he spotted Dwayne standing next to Scott, both trying to look like they weren’t listening to his meltdown with Derek.

“What’s so funny?” Scott asked, not understanding why Stiles was laughing at him.

“Dude, Dwayne is standing right next to you and you’re both sporting identical facial expressions.”

With a loud squawk, Scott bolted away. “The ghost was right next to me?”

Stiles didn’t miss the smirk on Dwayne’s face over Scott’s reaction to him. “Dwayne, you may not have been able to communicate due to your brain injury, but I have a feeling that you understood everything that people were saying. You were still in there, weren’t you?”

Dwayne didn’t react to Stiles’ words, he just pointed at one of the doors. “In there, huh?” Stiles sighed tiredly. Even though he knew it would be locked, he tried opening the door anyway.

Without being asked, Derek approached the door, this time more carefully. Flexing his hand, he reached and grabbed the knob, relaxing when nothing happened. With a wink to his mate, he easily broke the lock and opened the door.

“Show off,” Stiles grumbled.

“It’s an office,” Scott said, peering over Stiles’ shoulder.

“Well spotted, Sherlock.” Stiles smirked.

Scott tilted his head to the side. “Who?”

Stiles rolled his eyes. “I just can’t with you, Scott. I can’t.”

“What?”

“At least you have your looks, Scotty,” Stiles said jokingly. “I mean, your jaw is crooked, but you’re good looking and you have those puppy dog eyes going for you.”

“What are you talking about?” Scott cried. “I’m confused!”

“Stiles, just stop before you hurt him,” Derek laughed.

Stiles lovingly patted Scott on his cheek. “I love you, Scotty boy. Never change.” 

Derek was the first to enter the office. “It looks like Dr. Creeper had a secret office to go with his secret, underground torture chambers.”

Plopping in the chair, Stiles started opening drawers and rifling through them. Spotting a stack of pictures of a naked Anna, he quickly slammed the drawer shut. “Yeah, I’m going to leave this for my dad to search. Dwayne, was there something specific you wanted me to see?”

Grunting, Dwayne pointed to another door off of the office. “Fuck, this place has too many damn doors,” Stiles growled, standing back up and walking over to door. He was relieved to find that this one wasn’t locked. With a loud whistle, he entered the room. “Guys, you have got to see this.” The room was smaller than the office, about half the size, but three of the walls were covered in television monitors showing different areas of Eichen house, including the room Anna was in.

“Don’t touch any of the computers,” Derek warned. “You don’t want to accidentally erase something.”

“I see my dad,” Stiles said, pointing to one of the monitors. His dad was standing by the main lobby door talking on his cell phone.

“Look what I found!” Scott called excitedly. 

Walking back to the office, Stiles found Scott next to a long row of filing cabinets. “It’s hundreds of discs, all with dates on them.” Scott said, waving one of the computer discs in the air.

Stiles pursed his lips thoughtfully. At seeing Dwayne pointing to one of the drawers then to the room with all the monitors, his eyes widened. “He recorded everything and kept copies, didn’t he? Holy shit, he recorded your murder!”

Looking sadly at the ground, Dwayne nodded his head. “Scott, in the drawer next to your left elbow, see if there’s a disc labeled Easter or something.”

“Got it!” Scott crowed. “Each cabinet is its own year so it was easy to find. It helped that there were asterisks next to the date.”

Stiles looked sadly to Dwayne. “The truth is going to come out now, Dwayne, I promise. Everyone, especially your mom and brother, are going to find out that you died trying to save a little girl. Correction, you saved her, Dwayne. It may have taken six years, but you saved Anna. You’re a hero.”

Stiles inhaled sharply when a feeling of immense peace and love washed over him. He had almost forgotten what helping a ghost cross over felt like. It wasn’t like in the movies, he didn’t see any bright lights or hear bells or angels singing. Maybe the ghosts he helps sees and hear those things, but all he gets is the feeling of the most purest love and peace. He’d take this feeling over lights and singing any day.

“You’re a good person, Dwayne,” Stiles said, his eyes tearing up. “And I’m going to tell your mom and brother how much you love them. Be at peace, Dwayne.” A lone tear fell from Stiles’ eye when Dwayne disappeared.

“Did he cross over?” Derek asked, his voice rough with emotion.

“Yeah,” Stiles said, his voice cracking. “He’s gone.” Head spinning, Stiles stumbled forward, his hip slamming into the corner of the doctor’s desk. 

“Stiles!” Derek yelled, rushing to his mate’s side.

Stiles smiled weakly, his eyes unfocused. “Remember when I said I wasn’t a d-damsel in distress? I-I was wrong.”

Derek caught Stiles when he passed out, easily scooping him up in his arms. “Is he alright?” Scott asked in alarm.

“His heart’s beating steady, he just passed out. If this is anything like what use to happen, he could be out for days.”

“What are you going to do with him?”

“I’m going to take him upstairs and talk to the sheriff. Stiles doesn’t want to go back to the cabin, and I think as long as he’s unconscious the ghosts don’t affect him. Maybe Deaton can find another solution while Stiles’ is out of it.”

“I hope so. What do you want me to do?”

Derek looked to the disk still in Scott’s hand. “Guard that disk with your life. Give it to no one but the sheriff or my mom. Not only is it proof that the doctor killed Dwayne, but it’s also proof that Dwayne died trying to save an innocent little girl. The world will never know that Dwayne ended up saving her as a ghost, but they’ll know that he died trying to do the right thing.”

“I won’t let anything happen to it,” Scott promised.

***TW

Stiles woke up feeling groggy, too warm, and with a heavy weight draped over his middle. He went to shift positions, but something scratchy tickled his neck. He didn’t want to open his eyes, he was too comfortable, but he had this nagging feeling in the back of his head that he wasn’t in his bed in his cabin. Reluctantly peeling his eyes open, which felt unusually puffy and sticky, he groaned in pain when sunlight from a window that his bedroom most definitely didn’t have tried to burn out his retinas.

“You’re finally awake,” a deep voice rumbled in Stiles’ neck.

Stiles’ eyes snapped open. “What the?” Feeling the arm draped over him tighten, he looked behind him to find Derek spooning him. “Derek?” His mind was drawing a blank, his sluggish brain not wanting to cooperate. “What are you doing in my bed?”

“My bed,” Derek corrected with a smirk. “You’re in my bed, Stiles, and what I’m doing is snuggling with my mate.”

“Mate? Holy shit!” Stiles cried, bolting up. “Eichen House, Dwayne, Anna... Oh my god, how long have I been sleeping?”

“Four days,” Derek said, pulling Stiles back down. “Relax, everything is alright. Deaton said even after waking you need to continue to rest for a couple days. He was worried about you, you were really out of it.”

Stiles’ mind was racing, the last thing he wanted to do was rest. “What happened? Where’s Anna? Did my dad get the disc?”

“Anna is in Beacon Hills Memorial Hospital. She’s not good, but she’s stable and has her mother with her. She’s got a long rode ahead of her, both physically and mentally...especially mentally. She hasn’t said anything and she freaks out if any men come near her, but hopefully with time and therapy she will get better. I think as soon as she’s stable enough her mother plans on moving her to a hospital in Seattle where she lives. It will be best for them both, the reporters here have been vultures, but your dad has been doing a good job at keeping them at bay.”

“And Dwayne’s Mother and brother?” Stiles asked, feeling a lump forming in his throat. He had been out of it for four days and he had promised Dwayne before he crossed over that his family would learn the truth.

“Your dad drove out to San Francisco where they’re now living and explained everything to them, he even showed them a copy of the disc. It wasn’t easy for them to watch, but they’re incredibly proud that Dwayne tried to save Anna.”

“I wish we could tell them that he did end up saving her,” Stiles said sadly. “Dwayne’s a hero.”

“He is,” Derek agreed. “And so are you.”

“I’m not a hero.”

“Stiles, when you first arrived at Eichen House you were terrified, but you went in anyway and confronted the ghosts. If it hadn’t been for your stubbornness and bravery, no one would have even known that Anna was there.”

“Still not a hero,” Stiles mumbled. “I’m just a kid who can talk to ghosts who would do anything to be able to live a normal, ghost free life.”

Derek gave Stiles a cheeky grin. “We will get back to that in a minute. Do you want to hear about what happened with the doctor?”

“Hopefully Anna’s mom cut off his dick and slit his throat.”

“Not yet, she’s been too frantic over Anna, but no one has told her yet that Dr. Monroe is in the same hospital as them so there’s still a chance that she will do just that. After Parrish left Eichen House he went straight to the hospital, and it was a good thing he had because the doctors were planning on releasing him early the following morning. Dr. Monroe had even been hounding the doctors to release him that night despite how late it was. He said he had important matters to take care of at Eichen House.”

“I bet,” Stiles snorted in disgust.

“Anyway, Parrish gave your dad a heads up so he rushed to the hospital to arrest him...which caused him to have another heart attack. Unfortunately for him the doctors were right there so he’s going to live to spend the rest of his life behind bars. He’ll be getting out of the hospital in a few days and going directly to jail, no bail.” 

“His wife and kids?”

“Devastated. The nurse from Eichen House hadn’t been lying, on the outside Dr. Monroe had been the perfect husband, father, and Christian. His wife and kids have already left town, they moved in with her sister in Florida.”

“I feel bad for them,” Stiles sighed. “They’re world was just ripped out from under them.”

Stiles brought his hand up to cover his mouth to yawn, when he shrieked in horror. “What the hell happened to hand?” Glancing down at his other hand, he screamed again. “What the hell happened to both my hands?”

“I was hoping to finish telling you everything before you noticed them.” Derek grimaced.

“What the hell, Derek, it looks like someone has been carving into the back of my hands?”

“That’s because they have.”

“What? Why?” Stiles poked at one of the carvings, hissing when it stung. On the back of each of his hands were three symbols carved deep enough that they were going to scar permanently. “Wait, are these runesWhy are there runes carved into my very delicate and beautiful flesh? Does my dad know you have been using me as a scratching post?”

Derek rolled his eyes when he heard his family laughing downstairs. “Stiles, I’m a wolf, not a damn cat. And yes, your dad not only knows about the runes, but he gave permission for you to get them.”

Stiles’ mouth dropped open in shock. “Why? Why would he do that?”

Derek waved his hand around the room. “Stiles, look around.”

Doing as told, Stiles shrugged his shoulders. “Yeah, it’s your room at your parents house. I thought you had your own loft now?”

“I do, but I brought you here after you passed out so the pack could help look after you. Notice anything different?”

“Derek, I haven’t been in here for three years, and it’s not exactly like I spent that much time in here before that. You were always, stay out of my bedroom or I’ll rip your throat out with my teeth. Grrr!”

“And you tease Scott for being clueless. Stiles, you’re in my house not in the cabin, notice anything missing?”

Stiles inhaled so sharply that he choked on his spit. “There’s no ghosts! Derek, there’s no ghosts! Why are there no ghosts?”

“Do you want ghosts?” Derek chuckled.

“Fuck no!” Stiles cried. “Is this like the cabin though? Am I going to be locked in your room for the rest of my life?” Stiles gasped over dramatically. “You had Deaton perform the spell on your room so you could trap me in here and force me to be your sex slave, didn’t you?”

Groaning, Derek covered his face with his hands. “Shut up, Peter!” He snarled. “You too, Laura and Cora. Stiles, I’m not going to force you to be my sex slave.”

“What? Why not?” Stiles pouted. “I never said I didn’t want that.”

“Stiles, you no longer have to isolate yourself, you’re fee to come and go wherever and whenever you like. The runes on your hands, they block you from seeing and hearing ghosts and they won’t be able to touch you. You have to be careful though, they only work if your hands are bare and exposed, if you cover them up, it nullifies the runes.”

“So if I shove my hands under the blanket I’ll see any ghosts that are in here?”

“You’re going to shove your hands under the blanket, aren't you?” Derek asked in fond exasperation.

Instead of answering, Stiles cramming his hand under the blanket, jumping in surprise when a ghost appeared, damn near sitting on top of him. “Jesus, dude, ever hear of personal space?” Sticking his tongue out, he yanked hands back out, face lighting up when the ghost disappeared. “Holy shit, this is so awesome. So I can go to the diner now and get curly fries and I won’t see any ghosts?”

“Not as long as your hands are uncovered.”

“Wicked! Was my hands the only place where the runes could be carved into?”

“Would you have rather your face? It had to be somewhere where clothes wouldn’t cover the ruins.” 

“Hands are good,” Stiles quickly reassured. “Where did you find out about the runes?”

Sitting up, Derek stretched his arms over his head, smirking when he caught Stiles checking him out. “Remember how I couldn’t touch Anna’s door because it was coated with Mountain Ash? That underground chamber was built up in the 1940’s after a doctor and a couple soldiers were violently introduced to the supernatural world. Eichen House, at the time, was part of the field hospital that treated Japanese immigrants and Japanese-American citizens from Camp Oak Creek in Beacon Hills after the Pearl Harbor attack.”

“I’ve never heard of Camp Oak Creek.”

“Most haven't, it’s existence in Beacon Hills was covered up and all records of it destroyed. Well almost all, we found copies of almost everything in one of the locked rooms. Camp Oak Creek was basically a prisoner-of-war camp. There’s a lot to this story, more then I really want to get into right now seeing as you need to eat and you would probably appreciate a shower. The short version, there was a riot at the camp in 1943, a lot of people died. There were a few supernaturals in the camp at the time, both good and bad, and some American doctors and soldiers saw things they shouldn’t. They built the underground facility under Eichen House and started doing experiments on humans and supernaturals. While going through the papers, confiscating anything that mentioned supernaturals, my mom recognized a few names, Satomi Ito, an alpha friend of hers, and Noshiko Yukimura, a nine hundred year old kitsune. Both had been prisoners together at Camp Oak Creek. Mom reached out to Satomi to see if she knew of anyway to help you, and Satomi reached out to Noshiko who happened to have a friend a long time ago who suffered from your same gift. At first she was just going to fax the ruines over for Deaton to carve, but I asked her to come out personally to do it seeing as Deaton doesn’t have much experience with runes, and runes in inexperienced hands can be very dangerously, deadly even.”

Stiles looked down at his left hand and carefully traced the runes on it. “So a nine hundred year old kitsune carved runes in my hands while I was sleeping. Dude, I would have liked to have met a kitsune.”

Derek threw his head back and started laughing. “Don’t worry, you will. It turns out her daughter, who is also a kitsune, is your brother’s mate. Let me tell you this, there’s nothing more disgusting or pathetic than Scott McCall in love. I’m not even joking, I literally caught him drooling while watching her at dinner last night.”

“Oh, embarrassing!” Stiles howled with laughter.

Derek’s eyes softened as he watched his mate. Even too thin and too pale and going on day five with no shower, Stiles was still beautiful to him. “So are you okay with the ruins? Noshiko hadn’t wanted to carve them in without your permission, but your dad pulled the dad card. He didn’t want you to wake back in the cabin all alone after everything that happened.”

“They’re great,” Stiles said sincerely. “And I still have my gift if I ever want to use it. I admit, it was pretty awesome being able to help Dwayne and Anna. Seeing and being able to communicate with ghosts may not be that bad if I can do it on my terms. Question though, how am I going to sleep without accidentally covering my hands with my comforter?”

Derek blew out a loud breath. “Yeah, I’m sorry, the only solution we could come up with, other then cuffing your hands to the bed post, is that you return to the cabin at night to sleep.”

Stiles felt his heart drop, he had hoped to return back home with his dad. His dad did spend a lot of time at the cabin with him, but the cabin was pretty deep in the preserve and a longer drive to the station. With his dad being the sheriff, he had to live close to the station incase he was needed. Other then the nights when Scott crashed over, which was pretty much only during the summer, he had spent his nights and mornings all alone for the past three years. “Well that sucks, but it’s not the end of the world I guess.”

Derek reached out and cupped his mate’s cheek. “It’s just while you sleep, Stiles, and who knows, maybe once you’re ready, I’ll join you in the cabin.”

Stiles felt his cheeks heat up. “Yeah...yeah, I-I think I would like that.”

“Not until you’re eighteen!” John warned, stepping into the room.

“Of course, sir,” Derek quickly reassured.

“Daaad!” Stiles whined, “thats still a few months away. Do you want me to be all alone again?”

John rolled his eyes. “Invite Scott over.”

“If we promised no sex?” Stiles asked hopefully. “Come on, dad, for three years I have seen no one but you and Scott. Besides, Scott has a girlfriend now, he’s not going to want crash with me when he has a girlfriend to drool over. Let Deaton drop the spell on Scott and perform it on Derek.”

Groaning, John banged his head against he wall. He really didn’t want to say no to his son, Stiles had spent three years pretty much alone. He just didn’t know if he was ready for Stiles to move in with Derek, even if he did trust Derek with his son’s life. “We’ll discuss it after you have showered and eaten.”

“That’s twice now a shower has been brought up, do I smell that bad?”

“Yes!” Both John and Derek said at the same time.

“Rude!” Stiles huffed as he shakily went to stand up. “I don’t have any clothes.”

John tossed a grocery bag at him. “I swung by the cabin and picked you up a change. Come downstairs when you’re done. You have a very excited pack who hasn’t seen you in three years.”

“Can we go to the diner to celebrate my freedom?”

“Sorry, kiddo, Deaton wants you to take it easy for a few more days. You have gone three years without fresh curly fries, you’ll survive a few more days.”

“Will I though?”

“Go shower, brat,” John sighed as he turned and left the room.

Derek remembered how obsessed Stiles was with the diner’s curly fries, even as a little kid, it was all he ever asked for when anyone asked him what he wanted for dinner. “You haven’t had curly fries for three years?”

“I have, but soggy ones. Dad or Scott would pick some up, but by the time they got to the cabin they were a soggy, cold mess.”

“We’ll swing by the diner on the way to the cabin tonight and get some to go.”

“The cabin is in the opposite direction.”

“Do you want curly fries or not?”

“Yes,” Stiles quickly answered. “Thank you.”

“You don’t have to thank me. Stiles, you are my mate and I have three years to make for.”

“Derek, about that no sex comment...”

“Not happening until you’re at least eighteen.” Derek smirked. “I’m your mate, but I’m also a cop.”

“You’re also scared of my dad, your boss.”

“That too.” Derek admitted without shame. John Stilinski may be human, but he was a tough son of a bitch that knew how to take out werewolves.

Stiles was actually relieved to hear that, he wasn’t ready for sex. He wanted sex...he just wanted to discover who he was first. He never really had the chance to truly live, a person couldn’t live while being hounded by ghosts twenty four hours a day. There was so much he wanted to do and see now that he could and sex wasn’t on his list...yet!

Walking up to his mate, Stiles placed a kiss on his cheek. “Thank you, Derek. See you downstairs?”

“I’ll wait for you here. I’ll always wait for you, Stiles!”


End file.
